PC from zero

Generate custom loading images and buttons

2011-12-21T15:01:00.000-08:00

Chimply is a website to easily generate loading image indicators, buttons and badges.
You can also manipulate images by resizing and cropping them with the image editor.
Create professional images with Chimply. It's easy and free!

Here are some examples

Copy unformatted

2009-12-22T03:05:00.000-08:00

If you want to copy / paste parts of web pages on a word processor (like Word or Writer) without formatting,

- Select the part to copy
- Press [Ctrl] + [C] (copy)
- Open the "Notepad"
- Awards and Hold down [CTRL]
- Press [V] (paste)
- Press [A] (Select All)
- Press [X] (cut)
- Issue [CTRL]
- Open or activate the program Word or Writer or another word processor
- Press [Ctrl] + [V] (paste).

[via appuntidazero.blogspot.com]

World Wide Web in Plain English

2009-05-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Una breve spiegazione di ciò che rende il World Wide Web di lavoro: i browser, i pacchetti, server e collegamenti.

8 best Firefox add-ons for pcfromzero

2009-05-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

If you have not yet installed Mozilla Firefox, with these fabulous extensions you will understand why it is the best companion of navigation on the web.

1 - Google Toolbar
Take the power of Google with you anywhere on the Web

2 - Secure Login
Secure Login is a login extension for Mozilla Firefox integrated password manager.
Its main feature is similar to Opera's (the browser) Wand login.

3 - gTranslate
With gTranslate you can translate any text in a webpage just by selecting and right-clicking over it. The extension uses the Google translation services to translate the text.

4 - AutoCopy
Select text and it's automatically copied to the clipboard. Like Linux or mIRC.

5 - Right-Click-Link
Opens selected text in a new tab.

6 - Site Launcher
SiteLauncher is an add-on for Firefox that gives you a super-quick way to to open your favorite websites using only your keyboard. One special hotkey brings up the 'Launcher', followed by a unique key to launch a site.

7 - TwitterFox
TwitterFox is a Firefox extension that notifies you of your friends' status on Twitter.

8 - TinyURL Generator
An extension to silently generate a TinyURL for your current page at the click of a button.

[via blogdazero.blogspot.com]

How to Use Mozilla Firefox

2009-05-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Mozilla Firefox is a good free alternative browser to Internet Explorer. Mozilla Firefox is faster than Internet Explorer (IE)[1]. Additionally, many corporate IT departments find that Mozilla Firefox is less vulnerable to viruses and malicious code. IE has been fraught with security holes for years, and even with the release of IE7, Firefox remains the browser of choice. This added protection is not merely the result of being a smaller target for potential attackers; Secunia, a company known for finding and reporting vulnerabilities, reported far fewer problems for Firefox than for IE.

Steps

Check you meet the minimum system requirements.
Visit the Mozilla website to download the latest version of the Firefox browser.
Click the "free download" link and follow the simple installation instructions.
Run the Firefox browser. When you run Firefox for the first time, you will be given the choice of making Firefox your default browser. Click "yes", if you want Firefox as your default browser.
Firefox should automatically give you the option to import your Favorites, History, or other data from Internet Explorer. If you aren't prompted automatically, you can find the option under File > Import.
Surf!

Tips

Report phishing by clicking on Help then Report Web Forgery.
Use tabs on Mozilla Firefox. To open a new tab, press Ctrl and T and for a new window Ctrl and N.
Consider adding extensions for additional functionality.
Also consider downloading Thunderbird, a great mail program.
Firefox has great themes, check them out on the Mozilla webpage
The Google Toolbar for Firefox is available from here.
Consider including your bookmarks on the Firefox bookmark bar. It can be very helpful and can save your time when you want to access sites that you frequently enter (your webmail, for instance). For doing that, just click at "Bookmarks", move the mouse pointer to the bookmark to be added, click on it and drag it to the bookmark tab, which is just below the address bar or click on the star icon on the address bar. You're ready! The next time you want to access that site, you just have to click in its button.
Firefox also imports your IE favorites upon the first run.

[via wikiHow]

What is OCR ?

2009-05-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text (usually captured by a scanner) into machine-editable text.

OCR is a field of research in pattern recognition, artificial intelligence and machine vision. Though academic research in the field continues, the focus on OCR has shifted to implementation of proven techniques. Optical character recognition (using optical techniques such as mirrors and lenses) and digital character recognition (using scanners and computer algorithms) were originally considered separate fields. Because very few applications survive that use true optical techniques, the OCR term has now been broadened to include digital image processing as well.

Early systems required training (the provision of known samples of each character) to read a specific font. "Intelligent" systems with a high degree of recognition accuracy for most fonts are now common. Some systems are even capable of reproducing formatted output that closely approximates the original scanned page including images, columns and other non-textual components.

[via wikipedia]

Here is an excellent online service: http://www.ocrterminal.com/

OCR Terminal is a free online Optical Character Recognition service that allows you to convert scanned images and PDFs into editable and text searchable documents. It accurately preserves formatting and layout of documents.